In communication systems, especially in mobile communication systems, it is possible that a given terminal can connect to a network via a plurality of communication paths. Such communications paths can e.g. be provided by a sub-network or access network that provides a plurality of bearers, or by a plurality of sub-networks or access networks through which a terminal is capable of communicating to the network.
WO-00/57604 A1 describes a method and apparatus for setting up parallel calls. This document describes a mobile communication system in which a number of calls are handled for one user. The calls may have different bearer capabilities. In case a further call with its bearer capability requests a set-up, either another parallel call can be set-up, or a call can be put on hold or can be disconnected or can be put in a waiting state. The bearer capabilities of the number of calls are checked, in order to determine whether any of the calls have the same bearer capabilities. It is also checked whether any of the calls fulfill bearer requirements and can be taken on hold.
US 2004/0215766 A1 relates to methods and systems for providing wireless computer communication. It is described that mobile computers can communicate with a GPRS network via a first server, or with a hot spot network via a different server. The focus of the document is on managing the handover between two such networks. It is mentioned that the computing device and the one or more networks can have one or more channels for communicating, where each channel will generally be assigned to a specified IP port of the computing device. A processing unit is arranged to provide a wireless network, which unit comprises a receiving means arranged to receive data specifying the bandwidth requirements for a network connection between the network and a computing device that wishes to join the network, a processing means arranged to process data received from the receiving means and, if bandwidth is available, to cause an allocation means to allocate a bandwidth to at least one of the connections. The unit that provides a wireless network is a server that generates the network. As a consequence, the receiving requests for joining the network and then allocating bandwidth to connections in response is done within the context of a single network being generated by the entity receiving and processing such requests.
EP 1 320 103 A1 describes a method for connecting a terminal over a mobile radio access network or a local access network to the core network of a communication system. A core network controls the communications to and from a terminal whatever the used access network. An appropriate access network is selected according to network profiles stored in the core network. In an example, user equipment UE can communicate with a core network via a UTRAN or a different access network. It is described that an MSC or a SGSN can manage several simultaneous calls to or from the terminal over different access networks. Thus, even in the case of macrodiversity, the call is controlled by the same entity, e.g. MSC or SGSN.